About

RickB- Human, Artist, Fool.

Ynys Mon, UK.

The blog is called ten percent because of what Kurt Vonnegut wrote when remembering Susan Sontag - She was asked what she had learned from the Holocaust, and she said that 10 percent of any population is cruel, no matter what, and that 10 percent is merciful, no matter what, and that the remaining 80 percent could be moved in either direction.-

And I'm writing it because I need the therapy and I lust for world domination.

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You figure it out, apparently Senator Joe Biden is not sure of the order-

“The President has no authority to unilaterally attack Iran and … if he does, as foreign relations committee chairman and former chairman of judiciary, I will move to impeach him,”

Whoa there, sure you don’t want to think about forming a committee to propose thinking to discuss of moving to begin debate of impeachment after the bombs have dropped? Meanwhile a teevee pundit reacted by saying this-

“And everybody knows that Ahmadinejad is a madman, and that Iran is one of the most dangerous planets on Earth.”- Joe Scarborough

Erm, yes. Does this mean the pro-war numpties do actually think they are in a space adventure in a universe called ‘earth’ and they must defend planet ‘America’ from… Ming the Merciless, Klendathu bugs, the Cylons, Daleks, the Martians from ‘Mars Attacks!’ that go ‘ack ack’ (which might be right as according to wiki -Novelist Martin Amis was employed as a script consultant on the film.) Yes, Martin ‘thesaurus’ Anus Amis??

In haste, what with the possible shenanigans planned for Venezuela, a whacky hostage drama at a Clinton campaign office (is this a case of wingnuts taking their misogyny really seriously?) I have to go off to take my shift of emergency baby sitting while the youngest niece and worried parents enjoy casualty on a Friday night. Something is happening here. (ps can’t find uncensored version dammit). Naughty Youtube.

Update: Now in the corporate media although they studiously avoid ‘CIA’ or quoting any of the document.

On November 26, 2007 the Venezuelan government broadcast and circulated a confidential memo from the US embassy to the CIA which is devastatingly revealing of US clandestine operations and which will influence the referendum this Sunday… The memo sent by an embassy official, Michael Middleton Steere, was addressed to the head of the CIA, Michael Hayden. The memo was entitled ‘Advancing to the Last Phase of Operation Pincer’…

The US operatives emphasized their capacity to recruit former Chavez supporters among the social democrats (PODEMOS) and the former Minister of Defense Baduel, claiming to have reduced the ‘yes’ vote by 6% from its original margin. Nevertheless the Embassy operatives concede that they have reached their ceiling, recognizing they cannot defeat the amendments via the electoral route. The memo then recommends that Operation Pincer (OP) [Operación Tenaza] be operationalized. OP involves a two-pronged strategy of impeding the referendum, rejecting the outcome at the same time as calling for a ‘no’ vote. The run up to the referendum includes running phony polls, attacking electoral officials and running propaganda through the private media accusing the government of fraud and calling for a ‘no’ vote.

The ultimate objective of ‘Operation Pincer’ is to seize a territorial or institutional base with the ‘massive support’ of the defeated electoral minority within three or four days (before or after the elections – is not clear. JP) backed by an uprising by oppositionist military officers principally in the National Guard. The Embassy operative concede that the military plotters have run into serous problems as key intelligence operatives were detected, stores of arms were decommissioned and several plotters are under tight surveillance.

The key and most dangerous threats to democracy raised by the Embassy memo point to their success in mobilizing the private university students (backed by top administrators) to attack key government buildings including the Presidential Palace, Supreme Court and the National Electoral Council. The Embassy is especially praiseworthy of the ex-Maoist ‘Red Flag’ group for its violent street fighting activity.

Any port in a storm eh? Anyways, if things start to go down as suggested by this memo we know what the deal is and this is genuine. The break down of the tentative relationship with Colombia and Uribe- the terrorist US & UK backed criminal- might signal word is out the empire is going to turn the referendum into a precipitating event for unrest and a takeover.

This as right now the UK government tries to deport a member of the opposition Jahongir Sidikov back to Uzbekistan where he will meet that ‘routine’ treatment, this is what our government thinks is a safe place for someone whose family has already been harassed by the authorities after he was filmed protesting in the UK by Uzbek government operatives-

the bulk of the document six of nine pages expressed a range of serious concerns about what the committee termed “[n]umerous, ongoing and consistent allegations concerning routine use of torture committed by law enforcement and investigative personnel or with their instigation or consent,” and “[f]ailure to conduct prompt and impartial investigations into such allegations.”

The committee further expressed concern about the Uzbek government crackdown on civil society…The committee also called for “a full, effective, impartial inquiry” into the May 2005 massacre in Andijan where Uzbek government forces killed hundreds of mostly unarmed demonstrators. Further on the Andijan events, the committee noted “with concern” the government’s “failure to conduct full and effective investigations into all claims of excessive force by officials,” and the fact that it had “limited and obstructed independent monitoring of human rights in the aftermath of these events, thereby further impairing the ability to obtain a reliable or credible assessment of the reported abuses, including ascertaining information on the whereabouts and reported torture or ill-treatment of persons detained and/or missing.”

The committee also highlighted for particular concern “reports of forcible return of recognised refugees and/or asylum seekers from neighbouring countries” and the lack of information about their “conditions, treatment and whereabouts” in Uzbekistan. It called on the Uzbek government to allow the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees which it expelled in March 2006 to return to the country.

Holy shit we are not even a neighbouring country and for some reasons our government wants to pay the airfare to send him back to this UN condemned totalitarian state. They plan on doing it this evening, is kidnap, false imprisonment and delivering the hostage to known and universally condemned torturers and murderers what our government should be doing in our name? Problem is this is institutional, with no one bothering to see what the immigration service and their home office conspirators are doing they are routinely sending desperate people back to appalling fates. Immoral, illegal and absolutely not fit for the purpose, yet in immigration scare mass media culture no one even gives a shit, in fact they celebrate this cruelty under their masters instructions. Just a while back we made a big fuss over the abolition of slavery, well woo-fucking-hoo we effectively still condone and perpetrate the treatment of people as subhuman baggage to be inhumanly treated, ignored and despised by demagoguing media of low intelligence and ethics. All of which enables the government to proceed with its brutal repatriation crimes in the hidden ghetto of the migrant gulag. Often under that catch all badge for the repression of civil society into the lockdown- the war on terror. Write to this ‘gentleman’ and tell him what you think-

Mr Banton, a former machine operator, had already received A$800,000 (£338,000) compensation for his asbestosis in 2000. But he and his fellow campaigners were determined to force James Hardie to increase its compensation fund. It is estimated that up to 56,000 Australians will be affected by asbestos-related illnesses by 2020, with a large proportion caused by James Hardie products.

In 2001, the company bowed to pressure and set up a foundation to compensate victims of diseases caused by its products. But the sum it set aside – A$293m (£123m) – was laughable. When that fact was pointed out, the company refused to increase the fund. Then it moved its headquarters from Sydney to the Netherlands, saying this was for tax reasons. Critics accused of it of trying to avoid lawsuits.

Thanks to Mr Banton’s six-year campaign, combined with pressure from politicians and regulatory bodies, the company agreed last December to a package worth up to A$4.5bn (£1.9bn) over 40 years. The deal was approved by shareholders in February. Greg Combet, the leader of the Australian trade union movement, said: “Bernie has been there every day [of the campaign] and has lent to this entire process a decency and humanity that was sorely needed.”

When he recently presented a 17,000 name petition to the (now extinct) Howard government the conservative minister called it a ‘stunt’ and smeared him & his motives. Rudd mentioned Banton in his victory speech and will attend the state funeral. Exactly how conservatives rationalise allying with a corrupt, lying, tax evading corporation that is causing deaths while smearing a heroic campaigner as ‘politics’ is a mystery, yet they seem so adept at it. Howard and his administration were rejected because they repeatedly committed immoral acts and called it politics, something we have our own problems with here and there. At least in Oz they had a better alternative.

Ps. If you have to deal with asbestos, don’t cut corners, take all the right precautions. Because otherwise you’ll really be kicking yourself 20 years later when you die. Do not fuck with it.

This might explain the christianist dominionists, they are signed up to the evil twin-

German filmmaker Robert Sigl’s “The 13th Disciple” is still in the planning stage but producer Mario Stefan is in India’s western tourist state of Goa trying to attract an Indian co-producer for the project.

“It’s a fantasy-adventure film and takes place completely in present-day India,” Stefan said on the sidelines of the 38th International Film Festival of India, which opened over the weekend.

The story traces the journey of two German archaeologists looking for evidence that Jesus visited India. The researchers, who are twins themselves, find that Jesus had an evil twin brother who is reincarnated in the present as the scheming head of a religious sect. (ht2 Defamer)

Genius, as long as wildly silly crap movies like this get made, there may be hope for the human race. I reckon this project is go, hell I want to see it already. Fuck the paltry €5 million budget, this baby has buzz, go for at least $150m, this is going international, the protests from evangelicals alone will mean virtually free promotion. I smell Oscars, this is gonna be huge! Throw some alien robot ghosts in there (never hurts) and of course the evil twin’s girlfriend falls for the hero…while pregnant…sequel! Kerching!